MADISON, Conn. (WTNH) – Madison public schools have announced their intentions to hire new armed security guards as a safety precaution going into the 2022-2023 school year.
Officials stated that over the summer, the District has been investigating ways to improve school security and safety. Some minor improvements included adding new cameras to buildings, improving door hardware, conducting security reviews, adding AC in classrooms, and reviewing school entrances.
In addition to these changes, District officials said they will be introducing a new position to school campuses, titled Armed School Security Specialists. These specialists will be retired local or state police officers who are hired by the school district, while also being supervised by the Chief of Police.
The Armed School Security Specialist will receive yearly training as an SRO, and will be armed according to the District. The public schools have announced that they intend to hire four specialists for this position.
This new position is being added on top of the two other security positions in the schools, School Security Specialist and School Resource Officer.
The four new armed specialists will work side-by-side with the existing officers in the other security roles, officials said.
With these three security roles in place, the District said it has proposed a new staffing structure:
Brown, Ryerson, and TCLC
- One School Resource Officer (SRO): Officer Twohill and Officer Bull will each work half-time to fill one position (Current)
- One School Security Specialist: Carl McDowell (Current)
- One Armed School Security Specialist: Officer Twohill and Officer Bull will each work half-time to fill one position (New)
This new structure means Officer Twohill and Officer Bull will both work full-time at Brown and Ryerson. These three positions will be scheduled between the two schools while also providing intermittent coverage to TCLC. TCLC will also receive coverage from Madison Police through check-ins at the school.
Jeffrey and Polson
- One School Resource Officer (SRO): Officer O’Neill assigned to Jeffrey/Polson/Hand (Current)
- Two School Security Specialists: Michael Kapij (Jeffrey) and Kevin Potter (Polson) (Current)
- One Armed School Security Specialist: Bryan Baxter (New)
Bryan Baxter is returning to Madison having recently retired from the Madison Police Department. Bryan last worked in Madison Public Schools in 2020.
Daniel Hand
- One School Resource Officer (SRO): Officer O’Neill assigned to Jeffrey/Polson/Hand (Current)
- One School Security Specialist: Robert Faulkner (Current)
- Two Armed School Security Specialists: John Pardo and Jamie Del Mauro (Current – assuming new position)
Both John and Jamie are former police officers and existing MPS employees. John is a former Youth Officer for Madison and Jamie formerly supervised SROs.
